11. Cameroon’s Nationality Code reinforces the principle of the superiority of international instruments in Cameroonian law: Provisions regarding nationality contained in international treaties or agreements duly ratified and published shall have effect in Cameroon even though contrary to the provisions of Cameroon internal legislation.9 The Bakassi Peninsula and refugees from Nigeria 12. The group at greatest risk of statelessness are those of the Bakassi Peninsula. A 2002 judgment of the International Court of Justice granted sovereignty over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula between Nigeria and Cameroon, to Cameroon. There have been problems in establishing recognition of nationality both for those Bakassi residents who remained in their homes, in what is now Cameroon, and for those who relocated to the Nigerian side of the border, all of whom are at risk of statelessness. 13. Many residents in the peninsula do not have identification documents, due to difficulties they face in obtaining them. Unofficial reports indicate that children born there are not being registered at birth as a practice, for fear of them claiming Cameroonian nationality when their parents’ loyalties lie with Nigeria. The extent to which such discriminatory attitudes prevail and undermine the child’s right to a nationality are unclear. 14. Cameroon is host to a large refugee population. However, in the wake of protecting national security and fighting Nigeria’s extremist group Boko Haram, Cameroonian authorities have deported at least 100,000 Nigerians asylum seekers since 2015. 10 This year 4,402 are known to have been forcibly deported back to Cameroon, finding themselves living in remote border areas back to war, displacement, and destitution in Nigeria’s Borno State.11 While issues revolve around the prohibition of non-refoulement, forced migration also poses risks of statelessness. There is a lack of information on birth registration and documentation rates among refugees and IDPs. Though not synonymous to being stateless, birth registration is generally the first step in the process of acquiring a nationality. Not being registered could lead to risks of statelessness. Furthermore, situations of protracted forced displacement can lead to statelessness Discrimination against extra marital children 15. Article 6 of the nationality law of Cameroon provides that “Cameroonian nationality attaches to (a) a legitimate child born of Cameroonian parents; (b) an illegitimate child whose parents are both Cameroonians”. Thus, while extra-marital children are not denied access to nationality, additional conditions must be fulfilled in order for them to acquire nationality. As Article 7 further elaborates: “Cameroon nationality attaches to: a) A legitimate child born of a Cameroonian father or a Cameroonian mother; b) An illegitimate child born of parents of whom one is Cameroonian, when his affiliation to that one is first established, though the other be foreign; but subject in either case to the minor's right to renounce Cameroon nationality within six months before his majority, either 9 Article 3, Law No. 1968- LF-3 of the 11th June 1968 10 Human Rights Watch, They Forced Us Onto Trucks Like Animals, Cameroon’s Mass Forced Return and Abuse of Nigerian Refugees, 27 September 2017, https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/09/27/they-forced-us-trucksanimals/cameroons-mass-forced-return-and-abuse-nigerian. 11 From 1 january 2017 until 15 July 2017. 3